We are a couple about to exchange contracts for a freehold house in West Hendon. We encountered a problem. Our mortgage offer with Alliance & Leicester expires on 27/7/2026 but the owners are suggesting a completion date of 29/7/2026. Can one extend the loan expiry date?
The person best placed to address this question is your conveyancer who should assess if they corresponding with the mortgage company, owner’s representatives, selling agents or conceivably all parties taking into account the circumstances your house move to date.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as a first time purchaser of a ground floor flat in West Hendon. Do I pick up the keys to the house on completion from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in West Hendon?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the seller's conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be invited to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen early afternoon.
I have a mortgage with TSB for my property in West Hendon. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform TSB?
Your original mortgage agreement with TSB will provide that you need their approval in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of TSB’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact TSB directly. You need not do this via a TSB conveyancing panel firm.
It is not clear whether my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my West Hendon bank branch on a couple of occasions and was reassured it wasn't a problem and they would lend. My West Hendon conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they will not lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
Provided that the solicitor is on the mortgage company approved list, they must follow the CML Handbook specifications for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
I used Wolstenholmes several years past for my conveyancing in West Hendon. I now require my file however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in West Hendon of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does conveyancing in West Hendon differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in West Hendon approach us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because builders in West Hendon tend to buy the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in West Hendon or who has acted in the same development.
Should I be suspicious that estate agents that I am dealing with are suggesting a factory type conveyancing firm rather than a local West Hendon conveyancing company?
As is the case with many professional services, often recommendations from family and friends can be extremely useful or valuable. But there are numerous people with a vested interest in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders might all put forward lawyers to use. Sometimes the lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there is an underlying financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to choose your own conveyancer. You need to be aware that the majority of banks have an approved list of law firms you must use for the lender related work in your house move.
I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in West Hendon. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is clear the maintenance contribution as you normally would as all rents and maintenance charges should be apportioned on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
Having spent years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Hendon. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a West Hendon conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a West Hendon residence is First Floor Flat 61 Wilberforce Road in March 2014. The premium payable was £10,130 and the case was remitted back to the Willesden County Court to effect the Vesting Order (Claim No 3W103100). This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 71 years.